Attack follows bail hearing in blasphemy-related case; lawyers cite Butt’s remarks online
Rajab Butt is escorted by his lawyers after the attack. Source: La PK Press Club Express
KARACHI:
YouTuber Rajab Butt was attacked by a group of lawyers at the Karachi Municipal Court on Monday after a hearing in a case against him for allegedly insulting Islamic symbols, his lawyers and witnesses said.
The attack took place after Butt appeared before an additional district and sessions judge, who heard his bail application but adjourned the proceedings without any substantive orders.
“Today, I and some lawyers from my Karachi office were present in the court premises of Karachi Municipal Court during the court appearance with my client Rajab Butt, when a few lawyers attacked Rajab Butt with murderous intent in our presence, following which he was injured,” said Butt’s lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq in an article on X.
“Despite our continued efforts to stop the beatings, they persisted,” he added.
آج مجھے اور میرے کراچی دفتر کے دیگر ساتھی وکلاء کو سٹی کورٹ کراچی میں اپنے موکل رجب بٹ کے ساتھ عدالت میں پیشی پر عدالتی احاطے کیا جس سے وہ زخمی ھو گیا اور اسکے مسلسل زدورکوبی کو منع کرنے کے باجود مسلسل جاری رھا-…
– Mian Ali Ashfaq (@MianAliAshfaq) December 29, 2025
According to people present at the court, an exchange of words took place immediately after the hearing between Butt and several lawyers on the court premises. The argument escalated into a fight, after which Butt was beaten.
Read: Lahore court grants interim bail to Rajab Butt and Nadeem Mubarak
His lawyers tried to intervene and stop the attack. Butt was then escorted out of municipal court.
Lawyers involved in the confrontation linked it to remarks Butt allegedly made online after an earlier court appearance.
“Rajab had said that the person who registered the case against me did not look like a lawyer,” they said. They also said that Butt had requested that a case be registered against them.
Some lawyers said they accepted Butt’s promise that he “would not commit such an act again.”
Others issued a warning, saying: “This is what will happen to anyone who speaks out against lawyers. »
Police were not immediately available to comment on whether any action had been taken following the attack.
The bail application is expected to be heard again on January 13.
The case registered against Butt at Haidri police station is still under investigation.
Case history
Rajab Butt has been under investigation for alleged blasphemy since the start of the year, after he launched a perfume branded “295”, a reference to Section 295 of Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
The launch sparked backlash and accusations that the brand was flouting the law.
An FIR was later registered against him under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with insulting religious beliefs.
In March 2025, Butt posted an apology video from Masjid-e-Haram in Mecca while he was performing Umrah. He said he did nothing intentionally and asked people to “purify their hearts” towards him.
He said the video linked to the controversy had been misunderstood, claimed that a word had been deleted and announced the discontinuation of the perfume. He also called on religious scholars, the Punjab government and the Pakistan Army to reconsider the accusations.
The FIR was filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Labbaik leader Haider Ali Shah Gillani. If convicted, Butt faces up to 10 years in prison for the charges against him.
